Packer type refuse truck



Aug. 155, 196.1 H. P. ROSAIA PACKER TYPE REFUSE 'mucx 5 Sheets -Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 22, 1958 INVENTOR. Henry P. Rosaio Aug. 15, 1961 H. P. ROSAIA PACKER TYPE REFUSE TRUCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 22, 1958 INVENTOR. Henry P. Rosaia Aug. 15, 1961 H. P. ROSAIA PACKER TYPE REFUSE TRUCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 22, 1958 INVENTOR. Henry P. Rosaicl Aug. 15, 1961 H. P. ROSAIA PACKER TYPE REFUSE TRUCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 22, 1958 INVENTOR. Henry P. ROSOIO Aug. 15, 1961 H. P. ROSAIA PACKER TYPE REFUSE TRUCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 22, 1958 INVENTOR. Henry P. Rosuia Patented Aug. 15, 1961 2,996,203 PA'CKER TYPE REFUSE TRUCK Henry P. Rosalia, CoIma, Calif. Hydepak Refuse gogggtion Body, R0. Box 147, South San Francisco,

Filed Sept. 22, 1958, Ser. No. 762,459 9 Claims. (Cl. 214-82) This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in packer type refuse trucks and more particularly to that form of truck body used by scavenger companies wherein refuse is dumped into a loading compartment at one end of the vehicle and pushed into the main or storage compartment of the truck body by a reciprocating ram.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision of a swinging gate door located above the opening between the loading compartment and the storage compartment. This gate is positively controlled so that it moves forwardly as the ram commences moving reanwardly and then moves rearwardly with the ram to a closed position so as to retain the refuse in the body. Heretofore, gates of this nature have not been positively controlled and further the movement of such doors has been inwardly of the body rather than outwardly. The present invention, therefore, performs its function of retaining refuse in the body much more satisfactorily than prior gates of this type. The swinging door or gate is normally held in substantially vertical position by means of a latch. In such vertical position, the door partially closes off the opening between the loading compartment and the storage compartment and hence retains refuse in the body. As the ram moves on its loading stroke, the door latch is released and a spring or equivalent means swings the door forwardly. The moving ram contacts the edge of the door and pushes it to close position, whereupon the latch re-engages and the door remains stationary while the ram returns to its initial position.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of means for reciprocating the ram which are located in the loading compartment and extend into the truck body. The mechanism is substantially a self-contained unit and may be installed in an existing truck body as a self-contained unit. Additionally, the hydraulic actuating cylinder pushes the ram rearwardly, thus utilizing the full cross-sectional area of the cylinder and more effectively utilizing the ram cylinder power.

A further feature of the unit is the fact that slots need not be cut in the floor of the truck to provide for reciprocation of the ram and hence escape of refuse from the truck body through the conventional slot is avoided.

A still further feature of the invention is that fact that the trackways which guide the reciprocation of the ram are largely concealed or closed off and hence the likelihood of refuse blocking the trackways is eliminated.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away in section showing the device installed on a conventional scavenger truck.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the ram and actuating mechanism showing the ram at the commencement of its loading stroke.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan of the ram and associated mechanism with the cover plate removed.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along t e 44 9f FIG- 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the swinging gate in closed position.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view taken from the direction opposite that of FIG. 5 showing the gate in projected position.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a mechanism for unlatching the gate.

FIG. 8 is a View similar to FIG. 7 showing the unlatching mechanism at another position of its travel.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view of the gate latching mechanism partly broken away in section.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modification.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the structure of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 11 with certain parts removed.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention may be installed on a conventional scavenger truck having a frame 11 supported by wheels 12 and supporting body 13 which consists essentially of two portions, namely, a main storage compartment 14 and a loading compartment 16. The main storage compartment 14 has a front wall 17 in which is formed a rectangular opening 18, the opening 18 extending up from the floor 19 of the body. The loading compartment has a front wall 21 and a pair of vertically reciprocating sides 22'. Likewise located in the loading compartment 16 is a substantially horizontal longitudinally reciprocating ram 23 which extends the full width of the loading compartment 16 and has a width substantially equal to that of opening 18. In the initial position of its travel the ram 23 is at the front end of the compartment 16 and the side doors 22 are in lowered position. When the operator moves controls hereinafter described, the doors 22 are raised and the ram 23 moves rearwardly, pushing the refuse in the loading compartment 16 through the opening 18 and into the main storage compartment 14. The ram 23' then returns to its initial position'and the doors 22 are lowered. The foregoing general method of operation is well understood in the packer type truck body art.

The means for reciprocation of the ram forms one of the distinctive features of the present invention as is shown particularly in FIGS. 1 to 8, inclusive. A centrally-disposed longitudinally-extending well 26 is formed in the floor 19 extending the length of the loading compartment 16 and partially into the main storage compartment 14. The bottom of well 216 is not quite horizontal but slopes upwardly rearwardly at a slight pitch. This pitch assists in raising refuse to the top of the storage compartment 14 so that full use is made of the storage capacity of the truck. It will be further noted that the ram face 23 is disposed slanted upwardly forwardly from a vertical plane and that the angle between the bottom of well 26 and the face of ram 23 is slightly greater than all for the purpose of more effectively utilizing the storage capacity of the compartment 14. Located in well 26 and extending partially up above the surface of floor 19 is a ram actuating unit 25 which for practical purposes is self-contained so that it may be installed in an existing truck and in any event does not require that slots be cut in the bottom of well 26 or in the sides of the loading compartment. Located at the front end of the unit and extending longitudinally is a hydraulic cylinder 27. Projecting rearwardly of cylinder 27 is a piston rod 28-, the rearward end of which is connected by means of a wrist-pin 29 to cross head 31. The crosshead 31 consists of parallel upper and lower transverse members 3-2 having brackets 33, which support wrist-pin 2.9, and a pair of longitudinally extending members 34 on'either si e of the unit. 1. 9;!!-

her 34 carries a roller 35 or 37 at its front and rear end, respectively, rollers 35 and 37 having horizontal axes. Each member 34- also carries in its rear end a side roller 38 having vertical axes. The rollers 35, 37 and 38 guide the cross head 32 in its reciprocatory movement. The forward ends of cross head members 34, are fixed to the lower end of ram 23 so that as the cylinder 27 causes crosshead 31 to reciprocate, ram 23 likewise reciprocates. It will be noted that cylinder 27 pushes ram 23 on the loading stroke and that the full area of the cylinder is used on the working stroke.

The unit 25 has a casing 30 which contains and guides the crosshead 32. Casing 30 is provided with vertical side members 36 against the insides of which side rollers 38 engage. Casing 30 also contains four inwardly extending track forming members 39 at each of its four corners. The track forming members 39 have horizontal upper and lower faces 41 and 42 which are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the diameter of rollers 37 and hence hold the crosshead in a vertical direction during its horizontal reciprocation.

Casing 30 also contains vertical legs 46 having angles 47 on their upper ends which support a longitudinal center plate 48. The upper track forming members 39 are formed with inwardly projecting lips 49 which are separated from the outer edges of central plate 48 by a gap approximately equal to the thickness of rectangular members of crosshead 34. Further to prevent refuse from lodging inside the casing, longitudinal strips 52 attached to the ram 23 and located above gaps 51 move with the ram and hence conceal the gaps during the stoke of the ram. Rearwardly of opening 18 is a top plate 53 which covers both the central plate 48 and the strips 52.

Positioned adjacent the top of opening 18 is a transverse horizontal hinge shaft 61 and mounted for rotation with said shaft is a swinging gate 62 or door. Gate 62 has an obtuse angle shape in side elevation. The outer end or lower edge of the gate 62 is positioned above floor 19 a distance of about one-half /z) of the height of the opening 18. On one side of the body is a casing 63 in which is located mechanism for latching and unlatching gate 62. For such purpose, a crank arm 64 is attached for rotation with shaft 61 and arm 64 is formed with an elongated slot 66. Pivoted to casing 63 by means of pin 67 is a lever 68 the other end of which carries pin 69 which rides in slot 66. A helical spring 71 is fastened at one end to the casing 63 and at the opposite end to a pin 69. Spring 71 biases gate 62 to the open position shown in FIG. 6. Formed on arm 64 is a cam 72 having a shoulder 73 and engaging cam 72 is a vertically slidable latch 74 disposed in barrel 76 attached to casing 63. Within barrel 76 is a spring 77 which urges latch 74 toward engagement with cam 72. To the lower end of latch 74 is attached vertical sliding rod 78. The lower end of rod 78 is fastened to lever 79 by means of pivot 81 and the opposite end of lever 79 is fixed for rotation with transverse shaft 82. A detent 83 is fixed to shaft 82. A pivot lever 86 formed with a notch 87 is pivoted by means of pin 88 to crosshead members 34 and is biased in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8 by spring 89. As the crosshead 32 moves from the position shown in FIG. 7 to the left as shown in FIG. 8 it causes retraction of latch 74.

At the commencement of the loading stroke of the ram 23, the gate 62 is in the generally vertical position shown in FIG. with latch 74 engaging shoulder 73 on cam 72 to hold the gate in position. As the ram 23 begins its loading stroke, lever 86 on crosshead 32 engages detent 83 which unlatches latch 74. Spring 71 thereupon projects the gate 62 forwardly to the position shown in FIG. 6 overlying the refuse in the loading compartment '16. The maximum forward travel is limited to the position shown in FIG. 6 by the length of slot 66. When the ram 23 contacts gate 62, it forces gate backwardly to the vertical position shown in FIG. 5, the ram and gate co-operating to push the refuse into the storage compartment 14. As soon as the gate reaches the vertical position shown in FIG. 5, latch 74 engages shoulder 73 of cam 72 and holds the gate in closed position even while the ram 23 retracts. During retraction, lever 86 pivots in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8 to clear detent 83.

The hydraulic means for reciprocating ram 23 consists of a valve 91 connected to the loading and discharging sides of cylinder 27. Valve 91 may be of the type known as a tandem center spool type such as number R.T. 180N manufactured by Double A Products Company. The operating lever 92 of valve 91 is connected to arm 93 on rotary actuating member 94 and a second arm 96 on said member 94 is connected by link 97 to arm 98 on shaft 99. Operating lever 101a is also connected to shaft 99. Extending longitudinally inside casing 30 is a rod 102a, the forward end of which is connected to line 103 which is also connected to shaft 99. Rod 102a carries an abutment member 106 which contacts stops 107 and 108 attached to crosshead 32. Accordingly, at the end of the charging stroke of ram 23, valve 91 is caused to reverse and reverse the operation of cylinder 27. At the end of the return stroke of ram 23, valve 91 is returned to neutral and remains in neutral until the operator turns control handle 101a whereupon the cycle of operation is repeated.

A modification of the truck construction is illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12, inclusive. A truck body is mounted on chassis 101 having longitudinally extending members. Dump sills 102 are supported on the chassis 101 and pivoted by means of pivot 103 for dumping purposes. Normally, the dump sills 102 extend forwardly for the full length of the truck body. However, in accordance with the present invention, the dump sills 102 are short ened and cut at an angle, as indicated by reference numeral 100. Plates 360 on the sides of the unit 25a are made of extended length and extend back to the position indicated by reference numeral 105. Plates 3611 are welded or otherwise rigidly secured to dump sills 102 and com.- prise, in effect, a forward extension of the sills. As is clear from FIG. 12, the unit 25a fits between sills 102 to accomplish the foregoing purpose.

The floor 19a of the truck body is formed with a well 107:: immediately rearwardly of the unit 25a. Accordingly, the unit may be withdrawn for purpose of repair or adjustment by removing the rearmost rollers 37 and sliding the unit out through the well 107a. In order to accommodate a larger volume of refuse, the floor portions to either side of the unit 25a may be located at a lower elevation than floor :19a and, in effect, rest directly on the chassis 101 rather than resting on the sills 102. Ramps 109 interconnect the floor portions 110 with the main floor portion 19a.

One advantage of the construction of FIGS. 10 to 12 is that a larger volume of refuse may be loaded into the truck without structurally weakening the same. The unit 25a becomes an extension in effect of the dump sills 102. The actuating mechanism for the ram as best shown in FIG. 9 may be located rearwardly of the unit 25a and between the sills 102, thereby economizing in the use of the available space below the truck body.

The unit 25a is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, inclusive, mounted horizontally rather than tilted at an angle as in the preceding modification. It will thus be understood that the tilting of the unit 25 produces certain advantageous results but, when required, the unit may also be mounted horizontally parallel to the dump sills I 02. In other respects the unit shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 is similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 and corresponding parts have the same reference numerals followed by the subscript a.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a packer-type refuse truck of the type having means forming a loading compartment, means forming a storage compartment with an opening between said compartments, a ram movable longitudinally of said truck for pushing refuse deposited in said loading compartment through said opening into said storage compartment and actuating means for said ram; the improvement which comprises, a gate positioned at the top of said opening, means pivotally mounting said gate about a horizontal transverse axis, adjacent said opening and swingable between a projected position extending forwardly downwardly into said loading compartment and a retracted position in said storage compartment, biasing means biasing said gate for pivotal movement toward said loading compartment, latch means holding said gate in closed position in said opening and restraining said gate against said biasing means, and unlatching means for unlatching said latching means.

2. The improvement of claim 1 in which pushing movement of said ram actuates said unlatching means.

3. The improvement of claim 1 in which the lower edge of said gate in open position extends into the path of movement of said ram and completion of the pushing movement of said ram moves said gate to retracted position with the lower edge of said gate in the lowermost position of its travel, whereby said latching means operates to hold said gate in closed position.

4. In a packer-type refuse truck, a loading compartment, a storage compartment, a partition between said compartments formed with an opening, a ram, means reciprocating said ram to push refuse from said loading compartment through said opening into said storage compartment, a gate, means pivotally mounting said gate adjacent the upper edge of said opening for swinging move ment from a substantially vertical closed position to an open position projecting forwardly downwardly into said loading compartment, biasing means biasing said gate toward open position, latch means holding said gate in closed position against the force of said biasing means, and unlatching means unlatching said latch means.

5. The combination of claim 4 which further comprises means actuated by movement of said ram for actuating said unlatching means.

6. In a packer-type refuse truck, a chassis, dump sills extending only a part of the length of said chassis, means pivotally mounting said dump sills on said chassis at the rear of said truck, means forming a loading compartment, means forming a storage compartment at least partially supported on said dump sills and interconnected with said loading compartment, a ram movable longitudinally of said truck for pushing refuse deposited in said loading compartment into said storage compartment, actuating means for said ram, and a casing for said actuating means at least partially supporting said loading compartment, said casing having side members joined to said dump sills at the forward ends of said dump sills and comprising forward extensions of said dump sills.

7. A truck according to claim 6 which further comprises a floor for said storage compartment disposed above said dump sills rearwardly of said actuating means and below the level of said dump sills on either side of said actuating unit.

8. In a packer-type refuse truck, a chassis, dump sills extending only a part of the length of said chassis, means pivotally mounting said dump sills on said chassis at the rear of said truck, a body partially supported by said dump sills, a ram movable longitudinally inside said body for pushing refuse deposited in the forward end of said body toward the rear of said body, actuating means for said ram and a casing for said actuating means at least partially supporting said body, said casing being joined to said dump sills at the forward ends of said dump sills and comprising forward extensions of said dump sills.

9. A truck according to claim 8, in which said body is formed with a floor disposed above said dump sills rearwardly of said actuating means and below the level of said dump sills to either side of said casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,758,580 Moore May 13, 1930 2,298,747 Agar Oct. 13, 1942 2,298,982 Smith Oct. 13, 1942 2,679,437 Pusztay May 25, 1954 2,699,878 Avery Jan. 18,495 2,741,375 Backes Apr. 10, 1956 2,750,055 Huflines June 12, 1956 2,856,086 Balbi Oct. 14, 1958 

